Underlying Unity of Medical and Mental Cures by Paramhansa Yogananda
Scientific Healing Affirmations, 1924 Edition
The point is, that most people either believe solely in medical or solely mental cure, and ignore the point of unity where both methods coincide. Medical laws cannot contradict mental laws, for material law is simply a projection of spiritual law. Similarly, the law that governs matter and therefore medical science is more limited and unfree than its source — therefore mental healing has a wider scope and efficacy than medicine, for the latter is a gross materialization of the former.
As long as the material consciousness of the body exists, the use of medicines and drugs cannot be dispensed with, but as soon as that material consciousness begins to diminish, the belief in drugs disappears and all bodily sufferings are seen to have their roots in the mental.
I know my master never spoke of the uselessness of drugs, yet he so trained and expanded the consciousness of his students that they placed no reliance on medicines, etc., and used only mental power to cure themselves if they fell sick.
Some people, both in the East and the West, fanatically deny matter and medicine when they are so engrossed in the flesh that they feel they can’t live if they miss a meal.
It is inconsistent to deny the existence of matter with the same mouth that enjoys a steak for lunch every day. That state of realization in which body and mind, death and life, disease and health all appear equally delusive, is the only state wherein we can say that we don’t believe in medicine, food, surgery, or the existence of matter.
